Swimbait victory then defeat

[brgbassmaster]

Throwing an 8" pizz customs shadley out here in arizona and had a real nice one follow up to the boat. She got close i gave the glide bait a little twitch then BAM she smoked it. I watched her engulf the whole bait. Waited then set the hook. Somehow the hooks did not get her. Perfect execution. Im willing to bet money that if i put my hand around that bait and set the hook my hand would be full of trebles. Idk how she did it. But got some action shots.

 

 

 

[jr231]

The lake you're fishing looks awesome ! 

 

You said you waited and set the hook... Maybe next time, don't wait ? As soon as I know it's in their mouth I'm setting the hook ! That goes for any lure. There should only be a pause in the hookset if you're unsure that the fish has the hook in its mouth.. if you watched it take the bait , especially completely ... I think you should have set the hook immediately. 

 

Pretty sure I've seen some of your other reports. You'll go back n get her. 

 

[Yakalong]

Great looking lake 

[BassB8Caster]

I had this happen slow rolling a 5.8 keitech. Fish bit, I set the hook, kept tension reeling her in. She jumped head shaking and spit my lure. Reeled it in and the swimbaits hook was still sitting in the groove on the keitech. This was a 5lb plus largemouth. I was in my kayak fishing with 8lb line. Probably between the kayak and the line I was not able to get a good hookset at all. 

 

Hard to say in your case. Amazing to think that a strong hookset with two good treble hooks (that seem to grab anything and everything) don't penetrate the inside of a fishes mouth. Or somehow they are able to shake them look. 

[J Francho]

OP: those are great shots of what had to be a real bummer.  I had a similar experience with an OG HPH except the two trebles ended up in my shin. #swimbaitstrugglesarereal

 

43 minutes ago, BassB8Caster said:

I was in my kayak fishing with 8lb line.

 

I don't think the kayak had anything to do with it, but 8# line seems mighty flimsy for a Keitech rigged weedless.  This is not a finesse bait.  I use 12# at a minimum, or 50# braid.  Rarely do I even rig it weedless, as I prefer the hook up ratio of this:

 

[BassB8Caster]

34 minutes ago, J Francho said:

OP: those are great shots of what had to be a real bummer.  I had a similar experience with an OG HPH except the two trebles ended up in my shin. #swimbaitstrugglesarereal

 

 

I don't think the kayak had anything to do with it, but 8# line seems mighty flimsy for a Keitech rigged weedless.  This is not a finesse bait.  I use 12# at a minimum, or 50# braid.  Rarely do I even rig it weedless, as I prefer the hook up ratio of this:

 

The thought behind the kayak is that it is very easily moved in the water. So when setting the hook, as tension increases and the rod loads up, it will start to pull the kayak towards the fish. Decreasing the load I'm able to put on the rod, thus decreasing the hookset power. Where on a boat, you are delivering 100% of your effort to the rod and to the fish (through the line). And I never planned on using 8lb. I thought all along it was 12lb mono. Don't recall ever buying 8lb. Then after that night I went home and checked the used spool. So that went in the trash and I respooled with 12lb low stretch.

 

I hear you on the hook up rate with that set up. The reason I like the Texas rigged set up is because I fish a lot of small ponds with lots of grass on bottom.  So I can bring it through easily. I will definitely mix it up though as I have some of those jig heads.

[J Francho]

I've been fishing from a kayak for a dozen years or more, never noticed a difference in my hookset power, whether on land, in a bass boat, or kayak.  After the hookset, yes you can get tugged around by a larger fish, but not so much bass.  I'm talking norther pike and bigger salmonoids.  In fact, that's strategy, let the boat be the drag, and lock down if they run away from you.  If they run down, let them take line.  Outside of light finesse rigs, most of reels have line strong enough that a fish can pull the boat.  Bottom line, 8# is too light for that bait, and it makes me wonder if the rod isn't up to the task of driving the hook point home.

[brgbassmaster]

Thanks guys. Ya swimbait fishing  is rough. But rewards are great 

[MassYak85]

On 7/21/2017 at 11:34 AM, BassB8Caster said:

The thought behind the kayak is that it is very easily moved in the water. So when setting the hook, as tension increases and the rod loads up, it will start to pull the kayak towards the fish. Decreasing the load I'm able to put on the rod, thus decreasing the hookset power. Where on a boat, you are delivering 100% of your effort to the rod and to the fish (through the line). And I never planned on using 8lb. I thought all along it was 12lb mono. Don't recall ever buying 8lb. Then after that night I went home and checked the used spool. So that went in the trash and I respooled with 12lb low stretch.

 

I hear you on the hook up rate with that set up. The reason I like the Texas rigged set up is because I fish a lot of small ponds with lots of grass on bottom.  So I can bring it through easily. I will definitely mix it up though as I have some of those jig heads.

The kayak can definitely play a role, especially depending what Yak you have. But I think the thing to look at in your situation is the line and possibly the rod. Too much give in those will probably cause poor hook penetration through the bait. I fish 5.8's weedless all the time from my kayak with a 7'2" MHf or HF rod, 40lb braid to a 15 or 20 lb leader and never have an issue with hookups. I feel a tick and hammer them with an almost locked down drag. The only techniques I start to consider the kayak itself in the equation is frogging. Where I'm fishing with a pool que of a rod, 50 or 65lb braid and the drag as tight as I can get it. In that situation truly the only give is the kayak once the rod loads. And there are times I think it does cause a poor hookset when my kayak shoots forward 5 feet and I end up with no fish. That being said I fish out of a 50lb (240 - 250 with myself and gear added) sit in kayak. A feather compared to some of the bigger fishing kayaks out there. 

[Bluebasser86]

I had one do the same with a 7" line thru that I pour. I watched it come up and completely engulf my bait. Waited for her to turn and hammered the hook into, nothing, didn't even start to catch it didn't feel like. Kind of like when one slams a crank or jerkbait and manages to not get touched by the hooks, always just makes me shake my head. 

[BassB8Caster]

22 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

The kayak can definitely play a role, especially depending what Yak you have. But I think the thing to look at in your situation is the line and possibly the rod. Too much give in those will probably cause poor hook penetration through the bait. I fish 5.8's weedless all the time from my kayak with a 7'2" MHf or HF rod, 40lb braid to a 15 or 20 lb leader and never have an issue with hookups. I feel a tick and hammer them with an almost locked down drag. The only techniques I start to consider the kayak itself in the equation is frogging. Where I'm fishing with a pool que of a rod, 50 or 65lb braid and the drag as tight as I can get it. In that situation truly the only give is the kayak once the rod loads. And there are times I think it does cause a poor hookset when my kayak shoots forward 5 feet and I end up with no fish. That being said I fish out of a 50lb (240 - 250 with myself and gear added) sit in kayak. A feather compared to some of the bigger fishing kayaks out there. 

I agree that the line was most to blame. The rod was a Abu Garcia vendetta mh rod. Nothing special. My first combo baitcaster I purchased (black max reel). It has performed pretty well for me, that's why I don't necessarily blame it. It could have some give. Add a few small weaknesses and that's plenty for a big bass to shake loose. My kayak is a light sit in (maybe 45 50lbs). I weigh 165 (so maybe 185 with all my gear). It doesn't take a lot to move this kayak on the water. I also cannot say I had the best hookset possible either. I was slow rolling the bait, felt the weight and set the hook (while reeling to help keep tension). I felt weight until I saw her jump and spit the lure.  One of many lessons for me to learn. At least I'm finding good fish.